Binding mounting method and apparatus

ABSTRACT

A method and system for mounting a binding to a gliding board. In one embodiment, a single row of attachment features, e.g., threaded inserts, may be used to mount a foot binding to the gliding board. The attachment features may be equally spaced along the row, e.g., at 25 mm increments. In one embodiment, a binding includes a hold down plate that may be attached to the gliding board using only two fasteners, e.g., each fastener engaging with an attachment feature on the board, or using only fasteners that lie along a longitudinal line on the gliding board.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of the filing date under 35U.S.C. §119 of U.S. Provisional Application 60/296,379, filed Jun. 6,2001, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates to binding mounting methods and apparatus,such as those used for snowboards, skis, snowshoes and other devices.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

[0003] During riding, a snowboard rider's foot is typically secured tothe snowboard by a binding. The binding may be mounted to the snowboardin a variety of different ways, but typically is mounted using bolts orscrews that engage with threaded metallic inserts that are fixed withinthe snowboard. Although different insert patterns have been proposed,inserts are usually fixed in snowboards in one of two different patterntypes.

[0004] One type of pattern, commonly called a 4×4 (“four-by-four”)pattern, includes inserts fixed in the snowboard along two longitudinallines parallel to the longitudinal, or tip-to-tail, direction of theboard. The inserts form one or more square patterns of inserts, withinserts located at the corners of each square pattern. A binding may beattached to the snowboard using a hold-down disk (discussed below)having four holes arranged to match one of the square patterns ofinserts. Once the four holes in the hold down disk are aligned with oneof the square patterns of inserts, screws may be inserted through theholes, engaged with the inserts and tightened to secure the disk and thebinding to the snowboard. The binding may be adjusted in position alongthe tip-to-tail direction by reattaching the disk to the snowboard usinga different square pattern of inserts.

[0005] A second insert pattern, commonly called the 3D® hole pattern, isprovided on snowboards from Burton Snowboards and includes insertsarranged to form a plurality of equilateral triangle patterns. Eachequilateral triangle pattern has inserts located at the vertices of thetriangle and has one side parallel to a lateral direction, oredge-to-edge direction, on the board. A binding may be secured to asnowboard using a hold down disk that has three holes at the vertices ofan equilateral triangle. The holes may be aligned with one of thetriangular patterns of inserts, and screws may be inserted through theholes to secure the disk to the snowboard. An example of the 3D® patternis shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,689 to Carpenter et al.

[0006] Inserts in a snowboard may increase the weight and cost of thesnowboard, while decreasing the strength of the board. For example, aninsert may weigh more than the portion of the board that is replaced bythe insert, and/or the board may require reinforcement, e.g., additionalfiberglass and/or a stronger core material, in the vicinity of eachinsert to prevent board failure or insert pull-out. Therefore,minimizing the number of inserts in a snowboard while maintaining a sameor improved range of binding adjustment (i.e., a total length along theboard over which a binding may be mounted) and increment of adjustment(i.e., distance between adjacent mounting positions) is generallydesirable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] In one illustrative embodiment in accordance with the invention,a majority of attachment features on a board may be arranged along onerow generally extending in the tip-to-tail direction of the board. Forexample, the board may have all or substantially all inserts used tomount a binding to the board arranged along a single row parallel to theboard centerline. Binding mounting positions may be provided by patternsof two or three attachment features. For example, all of the attachmentfeatures may be arranged along one row and binding mounting positionsprovided by pairs or other groups of features in the row. Alternately,attachment features may be arranged along two rows, with a majority ofthe features arranged in one of the rows. Binding mounting positions maybe provided by triangular patterns of features, e.g., two features inone row and a third in the other row. Thus, the number of attachmentfeatures needed for a given number of binding mounting positions may bereduced and/or the number of binding mounting positions provided by agiven number of attachment features may be increased compared to otherattachment feature arrangements. In addition, concentrating attachmentfeatures along one row may allow reinforcement of the board intended toprevent feature pull-out or other detachment to be concentrated along amore narrow portion of the board, potentially decreasing the weightand/or cost of the board.

[0008] In another illustrative embodiment of the invention, attachmentfeatures are arranged on a gliding board along a longitudinal row toform a plurality of linear mounting patterns for a binding. Eachmounting pattern is formed by two attachment features on thelongitudinal row. The attachment features may be equally spaced fromeach other, e.g., at 25 mm increments, and arranged along or near theboard longitudinal centerline.

[0009] In another aspect of the invention, a method of attaching abinding to a snowboard includes providing a snowboard having a pluralityof attachment features fixed in a row in the snowboard, and providing ahold down disk having two openings adapted to cooperate with pairs ofthe attachment features. The hold down disk is attached to the snowboardusing only a pair of the attachment features, and/or using onlyattachment features that lie along the row. As used herein, the term“providing” is intended to include any manner of obtaining, using,handling, or otherwise securing possession of an object whether throughpurchase, loan, manufacture, etc. Thus, for example, a technician hiredor otherwise employed to attach a binding to a snowboard “provides” thesnowboard and binding as the term is used herein even though thesnowboard and binding may have been manufactured by and/or is owned by aperson or entity other than the technician.

[0010] In another aspect of the invention, an apparatus includes agliding board, such as a snowboard having a tip and a tail, metal edgesand a base suitable for gliding on a snow surface, and at least threeattachment features to attach a binding to the snowboard. The attachmentfeatures may be arranged in at least one attachment feature pattern andalong at least one row on the snowboard, the at least one row extendingin the tip-to-tail direction of the snowboard. The apparatus may alsoinclude a snowboard binding hold down disk having a tip-to-tail axisadapted to extend in a tip-to-tail direction on the snowboard when thehold down disk is mounted to the snowboard. The hold down disk may haveopenings adapted to cooperate with an attachment feature patternincluding no more than three attachment features arranged on thesnowboard in no more than one or two rows to mount the hold down disk tothe snowboard.

[0011] In another illustrative embodiment in accordance with an aspectof the invention, the centers of attachment features that provide aplurality of binding mounting positions are located within a rectangulararea on the board having a width of no more than 38 mm. In anotheraspect of the invention, the centers of the attachment features may belocated within no more than 19 mm of the gliding board centerline. Inone illustrative embodiment in accordance with these aspects of theinvention, the attachment features may be arranged along twolongitudinal rows that extend within 19 mm of the board centerline. Inanother illustrative embodiment, the attachment features may be arrangedalong a single row that is parallel to the board centerline.

[0012] In another aspect of the invention, a gliding board includes aplurality of attachment features arranged in a plurality of patterns toprovide at least three adjacent binding mounting positions. Theattachment features are arranged so that when a hold down disk ismounted to the board using one of the attachment feature patterns, nomore than three attachment features are covered by the hold down disk.In another aspect of the invention, exactly three attachment feature arecovered by the disk. This feature can be provided by attachment featurepatterns including two or three features and by arrangements ofattachment features along one or two rows. This is in contrast to aconventional 3D or 4×4 pattern that provides three or more adjacentmounting positions and has four inserts covered by a hold down disk whenthe disk is mounted to the board.

[0013] In another aspect of the invention, a snowboard having a tip, atail and metal edges may have a plurality of attachment features fixedto the snowboard and adapted to cooperate with a hold down disk toattach a binding to the snowboard. The plurality of attachment featuresmay be arranged on the snowboard to provide at least three bindingmounting positions for the hold down disk on the snowboard including afirst mounting position, a second mounting position adjacent the firstmounting position, and a third mounting position adjacent the secondmounting position, wherein the first and third mounting positions shareone attachment feature.

[0014] In another aspect of the invention, a gliding board, such as asnowboard, includes a plurality of attachment features to attach abinding to the board. The attachment features are arranged on the boardto form at least three adjacent binding mounting positions. The bindingmounting positions are provided by patterns of attachment features suchthat only one attachment feature from attachment feature patterns foreach of any two adjacent binding mounting positions is not shared.

[0015] One illustrative embodiment in accordance with the inventionincludes a gliding board having a tip and a tail, and a plurality ofattachment features to attach a binding to the gliding board. Theattachment features are arranged along first and second rows extendingin the tip to tail direction of the gliding board so that a firstattachment feature in the first row, a second attachment feature in thesecond row, and a third attachment feature in the first row are at thevertices of at least one equilateral triangle. This triangular patternof attachment features may be used to attach the binding, such as astrap-type foot binding, to the gliding board.

[0016] In another illustrative embodiment, attachment features arearranged on a gliding board having a tip and a tail and a tip-to-taildirection extending therebetween. The attachment features are evenlyspaced only along first and second rows that generally extend in the tipto tail direction of the gliding board. The first and second rows arelongitudinally offset so that no attachment feature in the first rowlies on a same lateral line, perpendicular to the rows, as an attachmentfeature in the second row.

[0017] In another illustrative embodiment, attachment features to attacha binding to the gliding board are arranged on the gliding board toprovide at least two binding mounting positions spaced apart along thelength of the board. The increment of adjustment along the length of theboard between the two binding mounting positions is less than a minimumdistance between any two of the plurality of attachment features thatprovide the at least two binding mounting positions.

[0018] In another illustrative embodiment, attachment features to attacha binding to the gliding board are arranged so that at least one of theplurality of attachment features is equally spaced from four adjacentattachment features.

[0019] In another illustrative embodiment, attachment features to attacha binding to the gliding board are arranged to form at least onenon-right triangular pattern of adjacent attachment features. The atleast one non-right triangular pattern provides a binding mountingposition, and each attachment feature is positioned at a vertex of theat least one non-right triangle. One leg of the non-right triangleextends substantially parallel to a tip-to-tail direction on the glidingboard.

[0020] In another illustrative embodiment, attachment features arearranged on the gliding board to form at least one equilateraltriangular pattern of attachment features that provides a bindingmounting position and has no leg parallel to an edge-to-edge directionon the gliding board.

[0021] In another illustrative embodiment, attachment features arearranged on the gliding board to form a plurality of adjacent bindingmounting patterns each having a center. In this embodiment, the centersof adjacent binding mounting patterns are offset on alternate sides of aline extending in a tip-to-tail direction on the board.

[0022] In another illustrative embodiment, attachment features arearranged on a snowboard along first and second longitudinal rows to forma plurality of equilateral triangular patterns of attachment features.The first and second longitudinal rows are parallel to a tip-to-taildirection on the snowboard, and each equilateral triangular patternprovides a binding mounting position formed by a first attachmentfeature on one of the first and second rows and second and thirdattachment features adjacent the first attachment feature on the otherof the first and second rows. A pair of snowboard bindings are attachedto the snowboard with each binding attached to the snowboard via one ofthe plurality of equilateral triangular patterns of attachment features.

[0023] In another aspect of the invention, the number of bindingmounting positions that is provided by plurality of attachment featureson a board is equal to two less than the number of attachment features.For example, if a set of attachment features that provide a plurality ofbinding mounting positions has a total of five attachment features, theset of attachment features may provide three binding mounting positions(5 features −2=3 mounting positions). Such a relationship between thenumber of attachment features and the number of binding mountingpositions may be present in attachment feature patterns that include twoor three attachment features and in which attachment features arearranged along one or two rows. This is in contrast to 4×4 patterns,e.g., a 4×4 pattern that provides three binding mounting positionsincludes six attachment features, and 3D patterns, e.g., a 3D patternthat provides three binding mounting positions includes at least six andlikely seven attachment features.

[0024] A snowboard binding hold down disk in accordance with theinvention has a center and a tip-to-tail axis adapted to extend in atip-to-tail direction on a snowboard when the hold down disk is mountedto the snowboard. The hold down disk has at least three openings thatform a triangle and are adapted to cooperate with attachment featuresarranged on the snowboard. The at least three openings are arranged sothat no leg of the triangle is perpendicular to the tip-to-tail axis.

[0025] In another illustrative embodiment, a snowboard binding hold downdisk has at least three openings that form a triangle and are adapted tocooperate with attachment features arranged on the snowboard. The atleast three openings are arranged in the disk so that a leg extendingparallel to the tip-to-tail axis is as long as any other leg of thetriangle.

[0026] In another illustrative embodiment, a snowboard binding hold downdisk has at least three openings that form an equilateral triangle andare adapted to cooperate with attachment features arranged on thesnowboard. The equilateral triangle has a leg that is parallel to thetip-to-tail axis.

[0027] In another illustrative embodiment, a snowboard binding hold downdisk has at least three openings that form at least one triangle and areadapted to cooperate with attachment features arranged on the snowboard.The at least one triangle includes at least one central triangle, andthe center of the at least one central triangle is offset from thecenter of the hold down disk.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] Illustrative embodiments in accordance with aspects of theinvention are described in connection with the following drawings, inwhich like numerals reference like elements, and wherein:

[0029]FIG. 1 is a top view of a snowboard having an attachment featurepattern according to one embodiment of the invention and a compatiblehold down disk;

[0030]FIG. 2 is a geometrical representation of a portion of theattachment feature pattern in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

[0031]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a binding mounted, using a holddown disk, to a snowboard with the attachment feature pattern of FIG. 1;

[0032]FIG. 4 is a top view of a hold down disk according to oneembodiment of the invention that may, for example, be used with theattachment feature pattern shown in FIG. 1;

[0033]FIG. 5 is a top view of a snowboard having an attachment featurepattern according to one embodiment of the invention and a compatiblehold down disk;

[0034]FIG. 6 is a geometrical representation of a portion of theattachment feature pattern in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5;

[0035]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a binding mounted, using a holddown disk, to a snowboard with the attachment feature pattern of FIG. 5;

[0036]FIG. 8 is a top view of a hold down disk according to oneembodiment of the invention that may, for example, be used with theattachment feature pattern shown in FIG. 5;

[0037]FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a snowboard having reinforcementstrips according to an embodiment of the invention;

[0038]FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a snowboard having reinforcementstrips according to an alternate embodiment of the invention; and

[0039]FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a hold down disk having amounting plate in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] In one aspect of the invention, a plurality of attachmentfeatures (e.g., metallic inserts) is arranged on a gliding board, suchas a snowboard, so that an additional binding mounting position can beadded in all cases when a single additional attachment feature isappropriately added to the board. This can be accomplished in multipleways. For example, in one embodiment for use with a binding that isattached to the board via only two fasteners, the attachment featuresmay be arranged in a single row along the centerline of the snowboard.Pairs of attachment features in the row may each provide a bindingmounting position, and the addition of one attachment feature to eitherend of the row may add another binding mounting position. This is incontrast to conventional snowboards. For example, with the 4×4 pattern,two attachment features must be added to add another binding mountingposition. With the 3D® pattern, another binding mounting position may beadded at certain positions in the pattern by adding a single attachmentfeature, but not in all positions in the pattern. For example, with a3D® pattern that includes eight attachment features, at least twoattachment features must be added to provide another binding mountingposition on either end of the pattern.

[0041] In another illustrative embodiment for use with a binding that isattached to the board with three fasteners, attachment features may bearranged along two rows in the board with binding mounting positionsprovided by triangular patterns of attachment features such that twoattachment features in each pattern are positioned in a first row and athird attachment feature in the pattern is positioned in the other row.The rows of attachment features are offset so that the addition of oneattachment feature to the end of one of the rows adds another bindingmounting position. Thus, additional binding mounting positions may beadded with the addition of a fewer number of attachment features thanwith conventional hole patterns, e.g., the addition of one attachmentfeature may add one binding mounting position.

[0042] In another aspect of the invention, non-adjacent binding mountingpositions may share at least one attachment feature. This is incontrast, for example, to 4×4 and 3D patterns in which adjacent bindingmounting positions share attachment features, but non-adjacent bindingmounting positions do not share attachment features. By havingnon-adjacent binding mounting positions share at least one attachmentfeature, more efficient use of attachment features in the board may bemade. In one illustrative embodiment for use with a binding that isattached via two fasteners, attachment features may be arranged in asingle row with the attachment features equally spaced from each otheralong the row. Binding mounting positions may be provided by attachmentfeature patterns that include two attachment features along the row thatare separated from each other by one attachment feature. In anotherillustrative embodiment for use with a binding that is attached viathree fasteners, attachment features may be arranged along two rows sothat binding mounting positions are provided by triangular patterns ofattachment features. Non-adjacent binding mounting positions may shareone attachment feature, e.g., first and third binding mounting positionsthat are adjacent to a second mounting position located between thefirst and third binding mounting positions may share one attachmentfeature. Also, in certain embodiments, first, second and third bindingmounting positions may share one attachment feature.

[0043]FIG. 1 is a top view of an illustrative embodiment of a snowboard1 that incorporates several of the aspects of the invention describedabove. A variety of different illustrative embodiments are describedherein that incorporate various different aspects of the invention.Aspects of the invention are not limited to the illustrative embodimentsdescribed below.

[0044] The snowboard 1 shown in FIG. 1 has a plurality of attachmentfeatures 2 that may be used to attach a snowboard binding or othermounting device (not shown) to the snowboard 1. The attachment features2 may be any feature compatible with a corresponding mating feature formounting a binding to the snowboard 1, as the invention is not limitedto any particular type of attachment feature. For example, theattachment features 2 may be threaded plastic or metallic inserts orstuds fixed within holes formed in the snowboard 1 using any suitabletechnique, a metal or plastic plate attached to the snowboard 1 havingthreaded or non-threaded studs or holes in the plate, or any othersuitable feature. In some embodiments, the attachment features 2 areseparate from other attachment features, as is the case with individualmetallic inserts commonly used in snowboards. In other embodiments, theattachment features 2 may be connected together, such as when aplurality of metallic inserts are integrally formed from a single plateor otherwise attached together to form a unit that is mounted within asnowboard. The attachment features 2 may be fixed on the snowboard 1,e.g., metallic inserts may be molded or otherwise secured within theboard.

[0045] In the illustrative embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the attachmentfeatures 2 are arranged on the snowboard 1 in two groups 17 and 18, eachgroup for mounting a different binding to the snowboard 1. A first group17 includes the attachment features 2A through 2F, and the second group18 includes the attachment features 2G through 2M. As an example, thefirst group 17 may be used to attach a left foot binding (bindings notshown in FIG. 1) to the snowboard 1, and the second group 18 may be usedto attach a right foot binding to the snowboard 1. The attachmentfeatures 2 are arranged so that suitable groups of attachment features 2form attachment feature patterns that each provides a binding mountingposition. The attachment feature patterns may have any suitableconfiguration. For example, an attachment feature pattern may be formedby the attachment feature pairs 2A and 2B, 2B and 2C, and so on. In thiscase in accordance with an aspect of the invention, adjacent attachmentfeature patterns, e.g., the pattern with features 2A and 2B and thepattern with features 2B and 2C, share one attachment feature, and onlyone attachment feature in the adjacent patterns is not shared.Alternately, attachment feature patterns may be formed by othergroupings of attachment features, such as patterns formed by alternateattachment features 2A and 2C, 2B and 2D, 2C and 2E, and so on. In thiscase in accordance with one aspect of the invention, adjacent attachmentfeature patterns, e.g., patterns including features 2A and 2C and 2B and2D, do not share any attachment feature. Another aspect of the inventionillustrated by this type of attachment feature pattern is thatnon-adjacent attachment feature patterns, e.g., patterns includingfeatures 2A and 2C and 2C and 2E, may share at least one attachmentfeature, e.g., feature 2C. In another embodiment, groups of threeadjacent attachment features, e.g., features 2A, 2B and 2C, may providea binding mounting position.

[0046] Each left and right foot binding may, for example, be mounted viaa hold down disk 32 or otherwise to the snowboard 1 at a selectedmounting position with holes 34 arranged to cooperate with patterns ofattachment features 2 on the board 1. A width of a rider's stance on thesnowboard 1 may be adjusted, e.g., narrowed or widened, by adjusting themounting position of either or both the left and right foot bindingsusing different patterns of attachment features 2 to secure the bindingsto the snowboard 1.

[0047] In the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 1, the hold down disk 32includes two holes 34 that are adapted to cooperate with patterns of twoattachment features 2 that are arranged so that a third attachmentfeature is positioned between the two features in the pattern. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 1, the holes 34 in the hold down disk 32 maycooperate with the pattern including attachment features 2A and 2C,which has the attachment feature 2B positioned between the features 2Aand 2C. Of course, the holes 34 may be arranged in any suitable way,e.g., to cooperate with pairs of adjacent features (2A and 2B) or setsof three attachment features (2A, 2B and 2C).

[0048] One aspect of the invention illustrated in FIG. 1 is that whenthe hold down disk 32 is mounted to the board 1 by an attachment featurepattern, such as features 2A and 2C, three attachment features arecovered by the disk 32, i.e., features 2A, 2B and 2C. By “covered”, itis meant that the attachment features 2 are completely covered over by abottom portion of the disk 32 that is in contact with, or positionednear, the board top surface when mounted to the board. In oneillustrative embodiment of the invention, the disk 32 has a diameter ofapproximately 100 millimeters and the attachment features 2 are spacedat 25 millimeters from each other along the row, e.g., feature 2B isspaced 25 mm from both features 2A and 2C, feature 2D is spaced 25 mmfrom both features 2C and 2E, and so on. Thus, the holes 34 in the disk32 may be positioned so that only three attachment features 2 arecovered by the disk 32 when mounted to the board, e.g., the holes 34 maybe positioned 50 millimeters apart along a diametric line of the disk 32at approximately 25 mm from the outer periphery of the disk 32. The diskmay have a frustoconical or stepped shape such that the disk 32 has amaximum diameter of approximately 100 millimeters at a wider, upperportion of the disk 32 normally positioned away from the board 1, and adiameter of approximately 85 millimeters at a smaller, bottom portion ofthe disk 32 that normally contacts the board top surface when mounted tothe board 1. In this case, the holes 34 may be positioned approximately50 millimeters apart along a diametric line on the disk 32 so that oneof the holes 34 is positioned about 17.5 millimeters from the center ofthe disk 32 and the other hole 34 is positioned about 32.5 millimetersfrom the center of the disk 32. With such an arrangement, the disk 32,i.e., the smaller, bottom portion of the disk 32, will not cover morethan three attachment features 2 when mounted to the board havingattachment features 2 spaced at 25 millimeters.

[0049] It should be appreciated that with the FIG. 1 embodiment, anadditional mounting position may be added to the board 1 with theaddition of a single attachment feature 2 to the board 1 for allpositions in the pattern. For example, an attachment feature 2 may beadded to either end of the row of features 2 in the first group 17 toadd another binding mounting position, e.g., a feature 2 may be added tothe right of attachment feature 2F and arranged to cooperate with thefeature 2E to form another attachment feature pattern. This can makeefficient use of attachment features 2 since a minimum number ofattachment features may be added to provide additional mountingpositions.

[0050] Another aspect of the invention illustrated in FIG. 1 is that amajority of the attachment features 2 are arranged along a first row onthe board 1. In fact, in this embodiment, all of the attachment featuresused to mount a binding to the board are arranged along a first row thatis colinear with the board centerline CL. Other aspects of the inventionillustrated are that centers of the attachment features 2 are locatedwithin 19 millimeters of the board centerline CL, and the attachmentfeatures 2 are positioned within a rectangular area having a width(e.g., a dimension measured perpendicular to the centerline CL) that isno more than 38 millimeters. These aspects of the invention allow closerspacing of the attachment features 2 to a single line along the board 1,allowing reinforcement of the board to be concentrated in a more narrowzone that that possible with other attachment feature arrangements. Forexample, the single row of attachment features in FIG. 1 permits the useof a relatively narrow hardwood strip or other board reinforcement in amore narrow area near the centerline CL as compared to otherarrangements such as 4×4 and 3D. It should be appreciated that thisaspect of the invention is not limited to having attachment featurespositioned along a single row colinear with or parallel to thecenterline CL. Instead, attachment features may be positioned in anysuitable way within 19 mm or less of the centerline, or within arectangular area having a width of no more than 38 millimeters. Therectangular area may be aligned along the centerline CL or transverse tothe centerline CL. The centerline CL is an imaginary line that extendsin a longitudinal, or tip-to-tail, direction of the snowboard 1 and isequally spaced from the edges 16 of the board.

[0051] In another aspect of the invention, the arrangement of attachmentfeatures 2 shown in FIG. 1 also provides an overall range of adjustment,i.e., a total distance over which a binding may be mounted to asnowboard 1, that is greater than 4×4 and 3D® patterns having a samenumber of attachment features. For example, a 4×4 pattern that providesa same number of mounting positions and total range of adjustment as apattern shown in FIG. 1 would necessarily require more attachmentfeatures 2, since four attachment features 2 are used to mount a bindingat each mounting position and two additional attachment features 2 mustbe added to the pattern for each new mounting position. Reducing thenumber of attachment features 2 in the snowboard 1 may allow for a lowerweight board and/or require less reinforcement of the board near theattachment features 2 to prevent pull-out or other detachment of thefeatures 2 from the snowboard 1.

[0052] The first group 17 of attachment features 2 in FIG. 1 includessix attachment features 2, whereas the second group 18 includes sevenattachment features 2. However, it should be understood that the firstand second groups of attachment features 2 each may include any suitablenumber of attachment features 2 other than six or seven attachmentfeatures 2, e.g., to provide a different range of adjustment for abinding, as the invention is not limited to using any particular numberof attachment features 2. In addition, the first and second groups 17and 18 of attachment features 2 may include a same number of attachmentfeatures 2, e.g., six inserts.

[0053] In the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 1, the attachment features2 are arranged along the centerline CL. However, this arrangement is notnecessary. For example, a first group 17 of attachment features 2 may bearranged along a first row, and a second group 18 of attachment features2 may be arranged along a second row. The first and second rows may ormay not be parallel to or colinear with each other and/or the centerlineCL. Thus, first and second groups 17 and 18 of attachment features 2 maybe arranged along lines that are at an angle with respect to each otherand/or at an angle with respect to the centerline CL. Further, thesnowboard 1 need not include two distinct groups 17 and 18 of attachmentfeatures 2, but instead may have a single continuous group of equallyspaced attachment features 2.

[0054] The snowboard 1 or other gliding board may be manufactured in anysuitable way using any suitable materials. For example, the snowboard 1may be a side wall-type board having a wood core positioned betweenupper and lower layers of fiber-reinforced material (e.g., fiberglass),and may include a plastic base material and metal side edges. Thesnowboard 1 may also be a cap-type snowboard, or may be formed fromother materials, as the invention is not limited in the manner in whichthe snowboard 1 is constructed, the shape of the snowboard 1, ormaterials included in the snowboard 1.

[0055]FIG. 2 shows a more detailed geometrical representation of thefirst group 17 of attachment features 2 in a specific illustrativeembodiment of FIG. 1. In this illustrative embodiment, attachmentfeatures 2 are positioned at or near each of the points A-F, which arearranged in a single row. In this illustrative embodiment, the pointsA-F are separated by 25 millimeters from a nearest, adjacent point, andpairs of points separated by a single point provide a binding mountingposition for a binding. For example, points A and C provide a bindingmounting position P1, points B and D provide a binding mounting positionP2, and so on. As used herein, a binding mounting position is a pointalong the centerline CL or other longitudinal reference line on theboard 1 that lies on the same lateral line as a centerpoint of anattachment feature pattern, i.e., the pattern centerpoint is equidistantfrom attachment features in the pattern that provide the bindingmounting position. Thus, in this illustrative embodiment, the bindingmounting position P1 is positioned at the centerline CL equidistantlyfrom points A and C. An increment of adjustment between binding mountingpositions, i.e., the distance between adjacent mounting positions, inthis illustrative embodiment is equal to the minimum spacing betweenattachment features.

[0056] Another aspect of the present invention illustrated by theattachment feature pattern shown in FIG. 2 is that an additional bindingmounting position P may be added to all positions in the pattern byadding a single additional attachment feature 2. For example, by addingan attachment feature at the point G in FIG. 2, an additional bindingmounting position P5 is added. This is not the case with 4×4 and 3D®patterns. In the case of the 4×4 pattern, four inserts are used to mounta binding at a mounting position, so that two additional inserts must beadded to an existing pattern to provide an additional mounting position.In the case of the 3D® pattern, while in some cases an additionalbinding mounting position may be added by providing a single additionalinsert, this is not true for all positions in the pattern. That is, insome positions in the pattern, two additional inserts must be added toprovide an additional mounting position.

[0057] It should also be understood that the aspect of the inventionwhere only one attachment feature may be added to provide an additionalmounting position is not limited to the specific pattern shown in FIG.2, as other attachment feature patterns can be used that achieve thisresult.

[0058] In another aspect of the invention, the number of bindingmounting positions P provided by the attachment features is equal to twoless than the number of attachment features. In FIG. 2, six totalattachment features at points A-F may provide four binding mountingpositions P1-P4. Since an additional binding mounting position may beadded with each addition of an attachment feature, the relationship ofthe number of binding mounting positions to total number of attachmentfeatures will remain the same. This is the case, for example, if anattachment feature is provided at point G, whereby the mounting positionP5 is added.

[0059] As discussed above, a binding 3 may be attached to the snowboard1 as shown in FIG. 3 using a hold down disk 32 that has holes 34arranged to overlie attachment features 2 in the snowboard 1. In FIG. 3,the binding 3 is shown as a conventional tray binding with a toe strap37 and highback 38, but the present invention is not limited to abinding 3 including these and/or any other particular elements, as thebinding 3 may be any type of binding, such as a strap binding, step-inbinding, plate binding, or any other type of device used to attach arider's foot to a snowboard 1, whether the rider is wearing soft or hardsnowboard boots, or other footwear, as the invention is not limited touse with any particular type of binding 3. In contrast to other types ofbindings, such as water ski bindings, the binding 3 may be a non-safetyrelease binding such that once a rider's foot is secured in the binding,the foot is not released from the binding unless the straps or othersecurements are released. In typical water ski and snow ski bindings,for example, a rider/skier's foot may be removed from the binding, e.g.,during a fall.

[0060] When mounting the binding 3 to the snowboard 1, holes 34 in thehold down disk 32 may be aligned with corresponding attachment features2 at a suitable mounting position, and the disk 32 secured to thesnowboard 1 at the mounting position, e.g., by engaging screws with theattachment features 2. The hold down disk 32 may engage with an openingformed in the baseplate 33 of the binding 3. The hold down disk 32 mayhave any suitable features to engage with the opening in the baseplate33 to secure the binding 3 to the snowboard 1 and/or prevent rotation ofthe baseplate 33 relative to the hold down disk. For example, althoughthe invention is not limited to such an arrangement, the hold down disk32 may have a frusto-conical portion having teeth on its undersurfacethat engage with corresponding teeth formed in the baseplate 33 near theopening as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,689. The holes 34 in thehold-down disk 32 may be arranged to provide a plurality of adjustmentpositions, e.g., to allow adjustment of the binding 3 in theedge-to-edge direction. Such an arrangement may provide more than onelocation for a binding to be mounted to the board using the sameattachment features in the board. The hold down disk 32 may have holepatterns to accommodate attachment feature patterns in addition to thoseof the present invention discussed above (e.g., the 4×4 and/or 3D®pattern). Thus, the hold down disk 32 may be a so-called universal diskthat provides for attachment of the disk 32 using two or more differentattachment feature 2 patterns.

[0061]FIG. 4 shows one illustrative embodiment of a hold down disk 32 inaccordance with another aspect of the invention. The hold down disk 32is specially adapted for use with the attachment feature patternsdiscussed above in connection with FIGS. 1 and 2 and has two throughholes 34 to receive fasteners (e.g., screws) to attach to the attachmentfeatures 2. In this illustrative embodiment, each hole 34 has scallopedportions to provide seven different adjustment positions, e.g., so thatthe hold down disk 32 and corresponding binding 3 may be adjusted inposition in an edge-to-edge, or lateral, direction on the snowboard 1.That is, in this embodiment, each hole 34 provides for seven differentlateral adjustment positions (e.g., spaced at 5 millimeter increments)at which a screw may pass through the hole 34 and secure the disk 32 tothe snowboard 1. Sufficient holes 34 may be provided to provide a rangeof edge-to-edge, or lateral, adjustment that is at least 25 mm, 30 mm,35 mm, 40 mm or more. Such ranges of adjustment may be provided with ahold down disk 32 that has a diameter of approximately 100 mm. This isin contrast to 4×4 or 3D pattern hold down disks in which a maximum ofapproximately 20 mm lateral adjustment is provided. These disks tend tobe limited in the range of lateral adjustment provided because the 4×4and 3D patterns force the holes in the disk to be positioned near theouter periphery of the disk. Since the holes are positioned near theperiphery, the range of holes is typically limited so as to avoidweakening the disk and/or forming the holes too close to the periphery.Of course, the aspects of the invention directed to a new hold down disk32 are not limited to one using holes 34 with six or seven scallopedadjustment positions, as each hole 34 may provide only a singleadjustment position, may be replaced by multiple spaced holes eachproviding a single adjustment position, may be formed as an oblong holenot having any discrete adjustment positions, or may include differentnumbers of adjustment positions. Thus, in another aspect of theinvention, the disk 32 may include two parallel rows of spaced holes,i.e., the slot holes 34 in FIG. 4 may be replaced with separate,distinct holes at any suitable spacing. One set of the holes may beadapted to locate the center of the disk at the board centerline CL.

[0062] One aspect of the invention illustrated in FIG. 4 is at least twoelongated slot holes 34 in the disk 32 intersect the tip-to-tail axis ofthe disk 32. This is not the case in typical 3D and 4×4 disks in whichtwo or more slots adapted to cooperate with attachment feature patternsto mount the disk do not intersect the tip-to-tail axis of the disk. Thetip-to-tail axis of the disk is an imaginary line on the disk thatpasses through the disk center and is oriented parallel to the boardcenterline CL when the disk 32 is mounted to the board 1. In theillustrative embodiment of FIG. 4, the holes 34 are perpendicular to thetip-tail axis. The holes may be arranged in any suitable way, e.g., tocooperate with attachment feature patterns including two attachmentfeatures spaced 50 mm or any other suitable distance from each other ina row. Likewise, the disk 32 may have three holes 34 so that the diskmay be mounted to the board by a linear pattern of three attachmentfeatures 2. In this case, three slot holes 34 may intersect the tip-tailaxis.

[0063] Another aspect of the invention illustrated in FIG. 4 is that theslot holes 34 are adapted to cooperate with an attachment featurepattern so that the hold down disk may be attached to the board in firstand second different orientations using the same attachment featurepattern on the snowboard and the same slot openings in the hold downdisk, while still providing for adjustment of the hold down disk in adirection transverse to the tip-to-tail direction, e.g., in the lateraldirection. This lateral adjustment may be made without altering theposition of the hold down disk in the tip-to-tail direction. Thedifference between the first and second orientations may be a 180rotation of the disk relative to the board, and may result inpositioning the center of the disk in at a different position along thecenterline CL. In this illustrative embodiment, the hole 34A ispositioned approximately 18.75 mm from the center OD of the disk, andthe hole 34B is positioned approximately 31.25 mm from the center OD.Since the holes 34A and 34B are separated by about 50 mm, the midpointbetween the holes is offset from the disk center OD by about 6.25 mm.Thus, for example, if the disk 32 is mounted to the attachment features2A and 2C in FIG. 2 in the orientation shown in FIG. 4, the center OD ofthe disk is positioned at longitudinal adjustment position A1 shown inFIG. 2. Position A1 is about 6.25 mm to the left of the binding mountingposition P1. If the disk 32 is then rotated 180 degrees and mounted viathe attachment features 2A and 2C, the center OD will be positioned atthe longitudinal adjustment position A2, about 6.25 mm to the right ofbinding mounting position P1. If the disk 32 is then rotated 180 degreesand mounted via the attachment features 2B and 2D, the center OD will bepositioned at the longitudinal adjustment position A3, about 12.5 mm tothe right of position A2 and 6.25 mm to the left of binding mountingposition P2. Accordingly, by offsetting the holes 34 in the disk 32,longitudinal adjustment positions for the disk 32 may be provided basedon the orientation of the disk relative to the board. Of course, holes34 in the disk 32 may be arranged in any suitable way relative to thecenter of the disk 32.

[0064] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the disk 32 includes referencefeatures, including angle indication marks 35, to provide an indicationof the orientation of the binding 3 relative to the snowboard 1 or thedisk 32. In FIG. 4, the angle indication marks 35 are in increments of30° with the 0°, 30°, 60° and 90° marks being labeled. The angleindication marks 3 5 may be provided at a finer or more coarse scaleand/or may also provide additional angle indication marks, such as onefor the 45° mark. Also, the angle indication marks may be positioned inany suitable way on the disk 32, e.g., the 0° marks may be changed to90° marks and the other marks 35 adjusted accordingly. The disk 32 mayalso include indicators showing the tip-to-tail direction, e.g., such asa double-headed arrow and text indicator extending between thetip-and-tail marks (e.g., the 0°-0° marks), and/or an indicator showingthe approximate location of the edges 16 of the snowboard 1. Theseadditional indicators may provide an aid to properly positioning thedisk 32 on a snowboard 1. The angle indication marks 35 may be formedpermanently in the disk 32, such as by molding the marks 35 in the disk32, or may be applied to the disk 32, e.g., on a sticker or other labeladhered to the disk 32. The invention is not limited to these specificmarking features, as any suitable indication indicia will do. Inaddition, the angle indication marks 35 or other indicators on the disk32 may be omitted from some embodiments.

[0065] As described above, various aspects of the invention may beimplemented in a variety of different ways. The embodiments describedabove incorporate aspects of the invention and generally includeattachment features (for one binding) arranged along a single row. Suchan arrangement of the attachment features is not required for manyaspects of the invention. For example, several aspects of the inventiondescribed above are incorporated into an alternate embodiment shown inFIG. 5. The FIG. 5 embodiment also illustrates several other aspects ofthe invention as described below.

[0066] One aspect of the invention illustrated in FIG. 5 is a glidingboard, such as a snowboard, having a tip and a tail and a plurality ofattachment features arranged on the board along first and secondlongitudinal rows to form a plurality of triangular patterns. Eachtriangular pattern is formed by a first attachment feature on the firstor second row, and second and third attachment features on the otherrow. Thus, the attachment features may be arranged in a kind of zig-zagpattern down the two rows to form adjacent triangular patterns ofattachment features.

[0067] According to this aspect of the invention, attachment featuresmay be arranged along two longitudinal rows like a typical 4×4 pattern,but unlike the 4×4 pattern, each binding mounting position may beprovided by two or three attachment features instead of four, therebyreducing the number of attachment features needed for a given number ofbinding mounting positions. In addition, adjacent binding mountingpositions may share all but one attachment feature, reducing the numberof attachment features needed to provide a given number of bindingmounting positions, or increasing the number of binding mountingpositions provided by a given number of attachment features as comparedto the 4×4 or 3D® patterns.

[0068] Such an arrangement may also provide a wider range over which abinding may be mounted to a board for a given number of attachmentfeatures. For example, assuming a same increment of adjustment betweenadjacent binding mounting positions, an attachment feature patternhaving six attachment features according to this illustrative embodimentmay provide four binding mounting positions over a range equal to threetimes the increment of adjustment. As another example, assuming a sameincrement of adjustment between adjacent binding mounting positions, anattachment feature pattern having six attachment features may providefour binding mounting positions over a range equal to four times theincrement of adjustment. In a 4×4 pattern having six attachmentfeatures, two binding mounting positions are provided over a range equalto the increment of adjustment. Thus, according to this illustrativeembodiment, more binding mounting positions distributed over a widerrange of adjustment may be provided using a same number of attachmentfeatures. The same is true when compared to the 3D® pattern. Forexample, a 3D® pattern having seven attachment features provides threebinding mounting positions over a range of three times the increment ofadjustment. In contrast, as will be appreciated from the discussionbelow concerning this illustrative embodiment of the invention, five orsix binding mounting positions may be provided by seven attachmentfeatures over a range of four or five times the increment of adjustment,depending on the number of attachment features providing each bindingmounting position.

[0069] According to another aspect of the invention, the attachmentfeatures are arranged along first and second rows generally extending inthe tip to tail direction of the board, and are evenly spaced along therows. The rows are longitudinally offset so that no attachment featurein the first row lies on a same lateral line, which is perpendicular tothe longitudinal rows, as an attachment feature in the second row. Thisis in contrast to a 4×4 pattern in which pairs of inserts are located ona same lateral line. By longitudinally offsetting the rows of attachmentfeatures in this illustrative embodiment, triangular patterns of insertsmay be used to secure a binding to the board rather than square patternsin the 4×4 pattern. The triangular patterns may be any non-righttriangle, including equilateral, isosceles, etc. Since triangularpatterns of attachment features are used to provide binding mountingpositions, the number of attachment features needed for a given numberof binding mounting positions may be reduced and/or the number ofbinding mounting positions provided by a given number of attachmentfeatures may be increased.

[0070] According to another illustrative embodiment of the invention,the plurality of attachment features is arranged in a pattern so that anincrement of adjustment between adjacent mounting positions along thelength of the board is less than a minimum distance between any two ofthe plurality of attachment features. Adjacent binding mountingpositions in a 4×4 or 3D® pattern are spaced at a distance approximatelyequal to the minimum distance between attachment features. For example,it has been found that if metallic inserts are placed in a snowboardcloser than a minimum distance, the likelihood of one or more insertspulling out of the snowboard increases. Thus, in conventional holepatterns, this minimum pull out distance acts as a limit below which theminimum adjustment increment cannot be reduced. Conversely, oneembodiment of the invention provides an increment of adjustment betweenmounting positions that is less than the minimum distance betweenattachment features.

[0071] According to other illustrative embodiments of the invention, theplurality of attachment features is arranged to form 1) at least onenon-right triangular pattern of attachment features where one leg of thenon-right triangle extends substantially parallel to a tip-to-taildirection on the board, and/or 2) at least one equilateral triangularpattern of attachment features where the equilateral triangular patternhas no leg parallel to an edge-to-edge direction on the board.

[0072] According to another illustrative embodiment of the invention,the plurality of attachment features is arranged to form a plurality ofadjacent patterns of attachment features where adjacent patterns havecenters that are offset on alternate sides of a line extending in atip-to-tail direction on the board, e.g., a centerline of the board. Byoffsetting the centers of adjacent patterns on alternate sides of atip-to-tail line, such as the centerline, the patterns may be moreclosely spaced, thereby potentially decreasing the increment ofadjustment between binding mounting positions located along thetip-to-tail line.

[0073] Another illustrative embodiment is directed to a hold down diskto help ensure that a binding mounted to the board can be laterally(i.e., toe edge to heel edge) aligned independently of the attachmentfeature pattern used, so that a center of a pattern of openings in thehold down disk made to cooperate with the attachment feature patterns onthe board is displaced from the center of the disk itself. The patternof openings may be linear, triangular or other. Thus, if a binding ismounted to a board at a first binding mounting position and the bindingis moved to an adjacent mounting position, the disk may be rotated andaligned with the attachment features at the adjacent binding mountingposition so that the binding is laterally positioned in the same way asat the first binding mounting position. This feature assists in makingadjusting the longitudinal position of a binding on a board, e.g.,adjusting a rider's stance width, independent from the lateraladjustment of the binding.

[0074] In the illustrative embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the attachmentfeatures 2 are arranged on the snowboard 1 in two groups 17 and 18, eachgroup for mounting a different binding to the snowboard 1. A first group17 includes the attachment features 2A through 2F, and the second group18 includes the attachment features 2G through 2M. Like the FIG. 1embodiment, the first group 17 may be used to attach a left foot bindingto the snowboard 1, and the second group 18 may be used to attach aright foot binding to the snowboard 1. The attachment features 2 arearranged in a pattern so that groups of three adjacent attachmentfeatures 2 are at the vertices of a triangle, where each triangularpattern formed by three adjacent attachment features 2 provides abinding mounting position. Thus, each left and right foot binding may,for example, be mounted via a hold down disk 32 or otherwise to thesnowboard 1 at a selected mounting position with holes 34 arranged in atriangular pattern to cooperate with triangular patterns of attachmentfeatures 2 on the board 1. A width of a rider's stance on the snowboard1 may be adjusted, e.g., narrowed or widened, by adjusting the mountingposition of either or both the left and right foot bindings usingdifferent triangular patterns of attachment features 2 to secure thebindings to the snowboard 1.

[0075] In this illustrative embodiment, the attachment features 2 arearranged along two longitudinal lines 41 and 42. In the embodimentshown, the longitudinal lines 41 and 42 are parallel to and equallyspaced from a centerline CL. However, it should be appreciated that thepresent invention is not limited in this respect, as the lines 41 and 42alternatively may be transverse to the centerline CL, may benon-parallel relative to the centerline CL, and/or may not be equallyspaced from the centerline CL. The centerline CL is an imaginary linethat extends in a longitudinal, or tip-to-tail, direction of thesnowboard 1 and is equally spaced from the edges of the board.

[0076] Several aspects of the invention described above are illustratedin FIG. 5. For example, the number of binding mounting positionsprovided by the attachment features in the first group 17 (fourpositions) is equal to two less than the number of attachment features(six features). Further, a majority of the attachment features in thesecond group 18 is positioned along one row, e.g., the line 41. Asdescribed in more detail below and in accordance with other aspects ofthe invention previously described, the attachment features arepositioned within 19 mm of the centerline CL and are positioned within arectangular area having a width of no more than 38 mm. In accordancewith other aspects of the invention, the disk 32 may also be arranged sothat it covers three attachment features when mounted to the board, andadditional binding mounting positions may be added with the addition ofa single attachment feature 2. Further, non-adjacent binding mountingpositions share at least one attachment feature.

[0077] According to another aspect of the invention, the rows ofattachment features 2 along the lines 41 and 42 may be offset so that noattachment feature 1 in a first row, e.g., on the line 41, is positionedon a same lateral line, perpendicular to the rows, as an attachmentfeature 2 in the other row, e.g., on the line 42. This arrangement is incontrast to 4×4 and 3D® patterns in which at least some inserts onopposite rows are positioned on a same lateral line perpendicular to therows. The offset of the rows of attachment features 2 in thisillustrative embodiment results in the attachment features 2 beingpositioned at the vertices of at least one non-right triangle that isformed by an attachment feature 2 in a first row, e.g., along the line41, and two adjacent attachment features 2 in the other row, e.g., alongthe line 42. As used herein, a first attachment feature 2 is “adjacent”a second attachment feature 2 when there is no attachment featurepositioned between the first and second attachment features. Forexample, a non-right triangle, such as an isosceles, equilateral orother non-right triangle, is formed by the attachment feature 2B on theline 42 and the attachment features 2A and 2C on the line 41.

[0078] According to another aspect of the invention, the non-righttriangle has a leg, or side, that is parallel to the rows of attachmentfeatures 2. For example, a side 2A-2C of the triangle formed by theattachment features 2A, 2B and 2C may be parallel to the centerline CL,a side 2B-2D of the triangle formed by the attachment features 2B, 2Cand 2D may be parallel to the centerline CL, and so on. In theembodiment wherein the rows are parallel to the centerline CL, eachnon-right triangle then has a leg that is parallel to the centerline CL,or the tip-to-tail direction, and also has no leg parallel to anedge-to-edge direction that extends approximately perpendicular to theedges 16 of the board 1.

[0079] According to yet another aspect of the invention, the rows andthe attachment features 2 within a row are spaced so that a plurality ofequilateral triangles are created. As a result, at least one of theattachment features 2 may be arranged so that it is equally spaced fromits four adjacent attachment features 2. For example, if an equilateraltriangle is formed by (i) the attachment features 2A, 2B and 2C, (ii) bythe attachment features 2B, 2C and 2D, and (iii) by the attachmentfeatures 2C, 2D and 2E, the attachment feature 2C is equally spaced fromits four adjacent attachment features 2A, 2B, 2D and 2E.

[0080] According to a further aspect of the invention, the rows may beoffset by one-half the separation distance between attachment features2. For example, if the attachment features are separated by a distanceof 40 millimeters along the rows, the row of attachment features 2 alongthe line 41 may be offset by 20 millimeters (to the right in FIG. 5)from those along line 42 so that the attachment feature 2B islongitudinally positioned half way between the attachment features 2Aand 2C.

[0081] In the illustrative embodiment shown in FIG. 1, all adjacentmounting positions provided by adjacent triangular patterns ofattachment features 2 share two common attachment features 2. Forexample, a mounting position provided by the attachment features 2A, 2Band 2C shares two attachment features 2B and 2C with its adjacentmounting position provided by the features 2B, 2C and 2D. As a result,only a single attachment feature 2 changes when moving between twoadjacent mounting positions. Thus, the attachment feature 2 arrangementin this illustrative embodiment allows another binding mounting positionto be added at all points in the pattern by adding a single attachmentfeature 2. For example, another binding mounting position may be addedto the first group 17 of attachment features 2 by appropriately addingone more attachment feature 2 to the row on the line 41 to the right ofattachment feature 2E, or by adding one more to the row on line 42 tothe left of feature 2B.

[0082] As described in more detail below, one way of implementing theembodiment of the present invention that provides an increment ofadjustment between adjacent mounting positions, i.e., a distance betweenadjacent binding mounting positions, that is less than the minimumdistance between adjacent attachment features 2 is to arrange theattachment features 2 so that the centers of adjacent mounting positionsare offset on opposite sides of a tip-to-tail line extending between theattachment features (e.g., the centerline CL as shown in FIG. 5). Thisis advantageous in that it enables the attachment features 2 to bespaced apart by a relatively long distance (which, for example, may helppreserve the strength of the snowboard 1 and reduce a need to reinforcethe board near the attachment features 2) while providing bindingmounting positions at a relatively shorter incremental distance.

[0083] The arrangement of attachment features 2 shown in FIG. 5 alsoprovides an overall range of adjustment, i.e., a total distance overwhich a binding may be mounted to a snowboard 1, that is greater than4×4 and 3D® patterns having a same number of attachment features. Forexample, a 4×4 pattern that provides a same number of mounting positionsand total range of adjustment as a pattern shown in FIG. 1 wouldnecessarily require more attachment features 2, since four attachmentfeatures 2 are used to mount a binding at each mounting position and twoadditional attachment features 2 must be added to the pattern for eachnew mounting position. Reducing the number of attachment features 2 inthe snowboard 1 may allow for a lower weight board and/or require lessreinforcement of the board near the attachment features 2 to preventpull-out or other detachment of the features 2 from the snowboard 1.

[0084] The first group 17 of attachment features 2 in FIG. 5 includessix attachment features 2, whereas the second group 18 includes sevenattachment features 2. However, it should be understood that the firstand second groups of attachment features 2 each may include any suitablenumber of attachment features 2 other than six or seven attachmentfeatures 2, e.g., to provide a different range of adjustment for abinding, as the invention is not limited to using any particular numberof attachment features 2. In addition, the first and second groups 17and 18 of attachment features 2 may include a same number of attachmentfeatures 2, e.g., six inserts.

[0085] In the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 5, the attachment features2 are arranged along two longitudinal lines 41 and 42. However, thisarrangement is not necessary. For example, a first group 17 ofattachment features 2 may be arranged along a first pair ofapproximately parallel lines, and a second group 18 of attachmentfeatures 2 may be arranged along a second pair of approximately parallellines. The first and second pairs of parallel lines may or may not beparallel to each other and/or the centerline CL. Thus, first and secondgroups 17 and 18 of attachment features 2 may be arranged along linesthat are at an angle with respect to each other and/or at an angle withrespect to the centerline CL. Further, the snowboard 1 need not includetwo distinct groups 17 and 18 of attachment features 2, but instead mayhave a single continuous group of attachment features 2.

[0086]FIG. 6 shows a more detailed geometrical representation of thefirst group 17 of attachment features 2 in a specific illustrativeembodiment of FIG. 5. In this illustrative embodiment, attachmentfeatures 2 are positioned at or near each of the points A-F, which arearranged to form equilateral triangles. Thus, the points A, B and C forman equilateral triangle such that the distances of the lines AB, BC andAC are equal to each other. Similarly, an equilateral triangle is formedby the points B, C and D, and so on. In one embodiment, the distancebetween points, e.g., the length of lines AB, BC and AC, is 43millimeters, although other distances between the points may be used. Inthis illustrative embodiment, groups of three adjacent points, such aspoints A, B and C, may be used to mount a binding to a snowboard 1.

[0087] Each of the centerpoints of the equilateral triangles, e.g.,points 01, 02, 03 and 04, is positioned at an equal distance from thevertices of its corresponding equilateral triangle and is offset fromthe centerline CL. In the illustrative embodiment where the length ofeach of the sides of each equilateral triangle is 43 millimeters, eachof the centerpoints 01, 02, 03 and 04, is positioned at a distance ofapproximately 24.82 millimeters from each vertex of its correspondingtriangle. Thus, the distances between A and 01, B and 01 and C and 01all equal approximately 24.82 millimeters, and the centerpoint 01 isoffset at a distance of approximately 6.2 millimeters above thecenterline CL. Similarly, the centerpoint 02 of the equilateral triangleformed by points B, C and D is positioned at an equal distance from itsvertices at points B, C and D, and the centerpoint 02 is positioned at adistance of approximately 6.2 millimeters below the centerline CL.

[0088] Each of the triangles, i.e., ABC, BCD, CDE, and DEF, may providea binding mounting position P on the centerline CL. That is, each groupof three adjacent attachment features may be used to mount a binding tothe snowboard 1 so that the binding is positioned with respect to thecorresponding mounting position P along the centerline CL. For example,if a hold down disk 32 is used to mount a binding to the snowboard 1,openings, holes, or other attachment elements in the hold down disk 32may be suitably arranged so that the hold down disk 32 may be suitablypositioned with respect to the centerline CL, e.g., the center of thedisk 32 may be positioned at the centerline CL to center the binding inthe edge-to-edge direction on the snowboard 1. In this illustrativeembodiment, each mounting position P lies on a line that extends from avertex of the corresponding triangular pattern to a point that bisectsan opposite leg of the triangular pattern. For example, the mountingposition P1 that corresponds to the triangular pattern formed byattachment features ABC lies at the point where a line extending fromthe attachment feature 2 at point B to a point Z1 intersects thecenterline CL. The point Z1 is equidistant from the points A and C alongthe line 41. The mounting positions P2, P3 and P4 may be similarlypositioned with respect to their corresponding triangular pattern ofattachment features 2. In the embodiment where the points A-F areseparated by 43 mm from adjacent points, the distance B-P1 and Z1-P1 isequal to approximately 18.6 mm, and the distance between B-Z1 isapproximately 37.2 mm. Thus, the centers of the attachment features 2 atpoints A-F are positioned within 19 mm of the centerline CL, and arepositioned within a rectangular area having a width (a dimensionmeasured perpendicular to the centerline CL in this embodiment) of nomore than 38 mm.

[0089] As mentioned above, the arrangement of attachment features atpoints A-F shown in FIG. 6 may provide a set of mounting positions Palong the length of the snowboard 1 that are separated by a distance,i.e., an increment of adjustment, that is less than a minimum distancebetween the attachment features 2. For example, in the illustrativeembodiment where the attachment features 2 are separated by a minimumdistance of 43 millimeters, adjacent mounting positions P along thecenterline CL are separated by a distance of approximately 21.5millimeters. Thus, the attachment feature arrangement shown in FIG. 6provides a minimum increment of adjustment between mounting positions Pthat is one-half of the minimum distance between attachment features 2.This feature is provided, at least in part, by the pattern of theattachment features 2 creating triangles having centerpoints 01-04 thatare offset from the centerline CL, i.e., the centerpoints of adjacentmounting positions are offset on alternate sides of the centerline CL.Thus, for example, even though the centerpoints 01 and 02 are separatedby a distance 01-02 equal to the minimum distance between attachmentfeatures 2, the distance between mounting positions P1-P2 is equal to ashorter distance, i.e., a longitudinal component of the line 01-02 thatis parallel to the centerline CL.

[0090] In some cases, it may be desirable to provide a relatively smallincrement of adjustment between binding mounting positions P, becausethis may provide a rider with the ability to mount a binding at anideal, or near ideal, tip-to-tail position on the snowboard 1. Withprior attachment position arrangements, the increment of adjustmentbetween binding mounting positions P was limited by a minimum distancebetween attachment features 2, which distance was constrained by certainphysical characteristics of the snowboard 1. For example, attachmentfeatures 2 have not been fixed within a snowboard 1 closer than certaindistances, e.g., closer than 25 millimeters, out of a concern that doingso could create a weakness in the snowboard 1 near the closely spacedattachment features 2. Thus, by providing an increment of adjustmentthat is less than the minimum distance between attachment features, anattachment feature arrangement in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention can provide relatively small increments of adjustment betweenbinding mounting positions P while maintaining a relatively largerdistance between attachment features 2 on the snowboard 1. However, itshould be understood that this aspect of the invention is not limited tothe specific attachment feature pattern of FIG. 2, as other attachmentfeature patterns (e.g., others in which the centers of binding mountingpatterns are offset on alternate sides of a longitudinal line along theboard) can be used to achieve this result.

[0091] Another aspect of the present invention illustrated by theattachment feature pattern shown in FIG. 6 is that an additional bindingmounting position P may be added to all positions in the pattern byadding a single additional attachment feature 2. For example, by addingan attachment feature at the point G in FIG. 2, an additional bindingmounting position P5 is added. This is not the case with 4×4 and 3D®patterns. In the case of the 4×4 pattern, four inserts are used to mounta binding at a mounting position, so that two additional inserts must beadded to an existing pattern to provide an additional mounting position.In the case of the 3D® pattern, while in some cases an additionalbinding mounting position may be added by providing a single additionalinsert, this is not true for all positions in the pattern. That is, insome positions in the pattern, two additional inserts must be added toprovide an additional mounting position.

[0092] It should also be understood that the aspect of the inventionwhere only one attachment feature may be added to provide an additionalmounting position is not limited to the specific pattern shown in FIG.6, as other attachment feature patterns, such as that shown in FIG. 1,can be used that achieve this result.

[0093] As discussed above, a binding 3 may be attached to the snowboard1 as shown in FIG. 7 using a hold down disk 32 that has three holes 34positioned at the vertices of a triangle and arranged to overlieattachment features 2 in the snowboard 1. As in FIG. 3 above, thebinding 3 is shown as a conventional tray binding with a toe strap 37and highback 38, but the present invention is not limited to a binding 3including these and/or any other particular elements, as the binding 3may be any type of binding, such as a strap binding, step-in binding,plate binding, or any other type of device used to attach a rider's footto a snowboard 1, whether the rider is wearing soft or hard boots, orother footwear, as the invention is not limited to use with anyparticular type of binding 3.

[0094] When mounting the binding 3 to the snowboard 1, three holes 34 inthe hold down disk 32 may be aligned with three corresponding attachmentfeatures 2 at a suitable mounting position, and the disk 32 secured tothe snowboard 1 at the mounting position, e.g., by engaging screws withthe three attachment features 2. The hold down disk 32 may engage withan opening formed in the baseplate 33 of the binding 3, and have anyother suitable features to perform any of the functions described above,such as engage with the opening in the baseplate 33 to secure thebinding 3 to the snowboard 1 and/or prevent rotation of the baseplate 33relative to the hold down disk.

[0095]FIG. 8 shows one illustrative embodiment of a hold down disk 32 inaccordance with aspects of the invention. This hold down disk 32 isspecially adapted for use with the attachment feature patterns discussedabove in connection with FIGS. 5 and 6 and has three through holes 34 toreceive fasteners (e.g., screws) to attach to the attachment feature 2.In this illustrative embodiment, each hole 34 has scalloped portions toprovide five different adjustment positions, e.g., so that the hold downdisk 32 and corresponding binding 3 may be adjusted in position in anedge-to-edge direction on the snowboard 1. That is, in this embodiment,each hole 34 provides for five different adjustment positions (e.g.,spaced at 5 millimeter increments) at which a screw may pass through thehole 34 and secure the disk 32 to the snowboard 1. Of course, theaspects of the invention directed to a new hold down disk 32 are notlimited to one using holes 34 with five scalloped adjustment positions,as each hole 34 may provide only a single adjustment position, may bereplaced by multiple spaced holes each providing a single adjustmentposition, may be formed as an oblong hole not having any discreteadjustment positions, or may include different numbers of adjustmentpositions.

[0096] The adjustment positions for the holes 34 in the FIG. 4embodiment form five equally sized triangles, including a centraltriangle 36 and four other triangles formed by corresponding scallopedportions of the holes 34. The central triangle 36 provides a centraladjustment position by which the center OD of the disk 32 may bepositioned nearest a reference line, such as the centerline CL on thesnowboard 1. Thus, for example, when the disk 32 is mounted to thesnowboard 1 using the central triangle 36, the disk 32 may be positionednearer the centerline CL (e.g., at the centerline) as compared to othertriangles provided by the holes 34. In this embodiment, one centraltriangle 36 is provided, but the holes 34 may provide two or morecentral triangles 36, e.g., two adjustment positions that position thedisk 32 at an equal distance from the centerline CL. Also, in theembodiment shown, the triangles, including the central triangle 36, areequilateral triangles, but the invention is not so limited. Rather, thetriangles may be any type of triangle suitably arranged to cooperatewith an attachment feature pattern on a snowboard 1.

[0097] One aspect of the invention illustrated in the embodiment of FIG.8 is that the hold down disk 32 has at least three openings (e.g., theholes 34), that form a triangle, e.g., the triangle 36, and are arrangedso that no leg of the triangle is perpendicular to a tip-to-tail axis ofthe disk 32. This type of arrangement may cooperate with a pattern inwhich the attachment features are arranged in a triangle with no legperpendicular to the tip-to-tail axis of the board. The tip-to-tail axisof the disk 32 is, in this illustrative embodiment, indicated by thetip-tail marking on the disk 32, and is arranged to lie in thetip-to-tail direction of the snowboard 1 when the disk 32 is mounted tothe attachment feature pattern in the snowboard 1. It should beappreciated that the present invention is not limited to a disk 32 thatincludes markings for the tip-to-tail axis, as the same information maybe otherwise indicated, e.g., by edge-edge markings on the disk 32, orthe disk can be devoid of any such markings at all.

[0098] Another aspect of the invention illustrated in the FIG. 8embodiment is that the disk 32 has at least three openings 34 that forma triangle, e.g., the central triangle 36, and are arranged in the disk32 so that a line between two openings and extending parallel to thetip-to-tail axis is as long as any other leg of the triangle. This istrue, for example, of a leg of the triangle 36 that extends between thepoints B and D in FIG. 8. This type of arrangement may cooperate with anattachment feature pattern in the snowboard in which the attachmentfeatures form at least one triangle with a leg parallel to thetip-to-tail axis that is as long as any other leg of the triangle.

[0099] Another aspect of the present invention illustrated by theembodiment of FIG. 8 is that the hold down disk 32 has at least threeopenings 34 that form at least one central triangle 36 having a center(at 02 in this embodiment since the vertices of the central triangle 36are shown aligned with the attachment feature pattern BCD from FIG. 6)that is offset from the center OD of the hold down disk 32. That is,although several triangular patterns may be formed by the openings 34for different adjustment positions, at least one central triangle,(e.g., the triangle 36), has a center (a point equidistant from thevertices of the triangle 36) that is spaced from the center OD of thedisk 32. A hold down disk incorporating this aspect of the invention maybe used to cooperate with a pattern of attachment features in asnowboard 1 in which the centers of adjacent binding mounting positionsare offset on alternate sides of a tip-to-tail line, such as acenterline, on the snowboard 1 by the same amount that the center of thecenter triangle is offset from the center OD of the disk. Offsetting thecenter of the central triangle 36 from the center OD of the disk 32 inthis manner allows the disk 32 to be uniformly positioned in theedge-to-edge direction independently of the longitudinal position of thedisk 32 on the snowboard 1, i.e., regardless of which mounting positionis used on the snowboard 1.

[0100] For example, in one embodiment, the center of the centraltriangle 36 is offset from the center OD of the disk 32 by an amountequal to the offset of the centerpoint 02 of the triangle BCD in FIG. 6.As a result, when the openings 34 in the disk 32 that form the centraltriangle 36 are secured to the attachment features 2 at the points B, Cand D, the center of the central triangle 36 overlies the centerpoint 02of the triangle BCD and the center OD of the disk 32 is positioned atthe centerline CL on the snowboard 1. Of course, any adjustmentpositions of the holes 34 may be used, and may correspond with anytriangular pattern of attachment features 2 on the snowboard 1 in FIGS.1 and 2 to customize the position of the binding 3. In the embodimentshown in FIG. 4, the adjustment positions on either side of the centraladjustment position are equally spaced from the central adjustmentposition (e.g., the upper mounting position 34-1 is the same distancefrom the central position (at BCD) as the lowermost position 34-5). As aresult, the disk 32 may be used to adjust the binding 3 from onemounting position P (see FIG. 2) to another adjacent mounting position Pwithout altering the edge-to-edge position of the binding 3. Thus, thelongitudinal position of the binding 3 may be adjusted independently ofthe edge-to-edge position by using the same corresponding adjustmentpositions of the holes 34 at the two mounting positions. For example, ifthe binding 3 is mounted to the snowboard 1 at the mounting position P2using the adjustment position closest the toe edge (the uppermostadjustment position 34-1 of the holes 34 as shown in FIG. 4), the disk32 may be removed, rotated 180 degrees and secured to the attachmentfeatures 2 at the points C, D and E using the adjustment positionclosest to the toe edge of the now rotated disk 32 (i.e., the adjustmentposition formerly closest to the heel edge as shown in FIG. 5). Thisfeature can be useful when a rider would like to adjust stance width ona snowboard 1 without making any adjustment in the edge-to-edge positionof a binding 3. Thus, the rider need only remember the adjustmentposition used at a first mounting position, e.g., the top adjustmentposition of the holes 34, move the disk 32 to the new mounting positionand reattach the disk 32 and binding 3 using the same correspondingadjustment position, e.g., the top adjustment position, regardless ofwhether the disk 32 is rotated to mount the binding 3 at the newposition.

[0101] Thus, offsetting the centerpoint of the central adjustmentposition of the holes 34 from the center OD of the disk 32 and spacingadjustment positions uniformly from the central adjustment position,e.g., at 5 millimeter increments, may provide advantages over other hole34 arrangements. If the central adjustment position for the holes 34were positioned so that the center OD of the disk 32 was at thecenterpoint 02 of the triangular pattern BCD in FIG. 2, this arrangementmight not allow a binding 3 to be positioned on the snowboard 1 in apredictable way, especially when the disk 32 is turned 180 degrees sothat the binding may be adjusted from one mounting position P to anotheradjacent mounting position P. For example, if the centerpoint (at 02) ofthe central adjustment position for the holes 34 is positioned at thecenter OD of the disk 32, when the disk 32 is rotated and engaged at theadjacent triangular pattern CDE, the center OD of the disk 32 would bepositioned at the centerpoint 03, which would result in the binding 3being offset in an edge-to-edge direction by an amount equaling theoffset of the centerpoints 02, 03 from the centerline CL. If the holes34 have slots or otherwise provide multiple adjustment positions, thisoffset may be compensated for by using different adjustment positions ofthe holes 34 for the different mounting positions P. However, this maynot be ideal since an adjustment in a rider's stance width on thesnowboard 1 would require compensation in the edge-to-edge direction aswell as the tip-to-tail direction. Instead, an adjustment in stancewidth should preferably be only dependent on which adjustment positionof the holes 34 is used to mount the bindings 3. That is, for example,if a binding 3 is moved from one mounting position to another mountingposition, the edge-to-edge position of the binding 3 preferably shouldnot change if the same, corresponding adjustment position for the holes34 is used at both mounting positions.

[0102] While offsetting the centerpoint of the central adjustmentposition for the holes 34 from the center of the disk is advantageous inan embodiment where the centerpoint of the binding mounting position isoffset from a centerline of the snowboard, use of such offsetting andother features of the FIG. 8 embodiment are not required with otheraspects of the invention described above. In addition, it is notnecessary to employ holes 34 that provide a central adjustment positionon the disk that locates the center OD of the disk 32 at a tip-to-tailline on the board, such as the centerline CL. In addition, theadjustment positions may be equally spaced from a central adjustmentposition as in the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 8, or unequallyspaced from each other and/or from the central adjustment position.Further, in this embodiment, the holes 34 are extended in a directiontransverse to the tip-to-tail direction to allow the disk 32 to bepositioned in a lateral toe-to-heel edge direction on the snowboard 1.However, the holes 34 may be arranged in other directions, e.g., toprovide adjustment of the disk 32 in a longitudinal direction along thesnowboard 1, or as discussed above only a single position can beprovided at each vertex.

[0103] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the disk 32 includes referencefeatures, including angle indication marks 35, to provide an indicationof the orientation of the binding 3 relative to the snowboard 1 or thedisk 32. In FIG. 4, the angle indication marks 35 are in increments of15° with the 0°, 30° and 60° marks being labeled. The angle indicationmarks 35 may be provided at a finer or more coarse scale and/or may alsoprovide additional angle indication marks, such as one for the 45° mark.Also, the angle indication marks may be positioned in any suitable wayon the disk 32, e.g., the 0° marks may be changed to 90° marks and theother marks 35 adjusted accordingly. The disk 32 may also includeindicators showing the tip-to-tail direction, e.g., such as adouble-headed arrow and text indicator extending between thetip-and-tail marks (e.g., the 0°-0° marks), and/or an indicator showingthe approximate location of the edges 16 of the snowboard 1. Theseadditional indicators may provide an aid to properly positioning thedisk 32 on a snowboard 1. The angle indication marks 35 may be formedpermanently in the disk 32, such as by molding the marks 35 in the disk32, or may be applied to the disk 32, e.g., on a sticker or other labeladhered to the disk 32. The invention is not limited to these specificmarking features, as any suitable indication indicia will do. Inaddition, the angle indication marks 35 or other indicators on the disk32 may be omitted from some embodiments.

[0104] In another aspect of the invention, attachment featurearrangements may provide for a smaller reinforced area on the boardwhere attachment features are positioned. FIG. 9 illustrates anembodiment in accordance with an aspect of the invention employed in asnowboard 1 having the attachment feature pattern shown in FIG. 1. Inthis illustrative embodiment, the snowboard 1 includes a reinforcementor high-strength strip 11 that runs longitudinally along the snowboard1. The attachment features 2 may be fixed in the snowboard 1 within ornear the reinforcement strip 11. The snowboard 1 may also include lowerstrength or filler strips 14 and 15 that may have a lower strength thanthe reinforcement strip 11, as these filler strips are not used toanchor the attachment features 2 to the snowboard 1. Thus, the fillerstrips 14 and 15 may be made of lighter and/or less expensive material.The strips 11, 14 and 15 may be formed as part of a core of thesnowboard 1, e.g., the reinforcement strip 11 may include hardwoodstrips attached to lighter weight and lower strength filler strips 14and 15, which may be made of balsa wood. The strips 11, 14 and 15 may beattached together and fashioned to form the core of the snowboard 1around which other portions of the snowboard 1, such as the base, sideedges and top surface, are formed in any suitable manner.

[0105] The reinforcement strip 11 may also be incorporated into thesnowboard 1 in other ways. For example, the reinforcement strip 11 mayinclude higher strength fiber or resin materials to reinforce areasaround the attachment features 2. In addition, the reinforcing strip 11need not extend along the entire length of the snowboard 1. Instead, thereinforcing strip 11 may be formed only locally around each attachmentfeature 2 or each group of attachment features 2.

[0106] The aspect of the invention described above in connection withFIG. 9 is not limited to the attachment feature 2 arrangement shown inFIG. 1. Instead, reinforcement strips may be provided in the snowboard 1for attachment features 2 arranged in any desired pattern, such as thoseshown in FIG. 4, in a typical 4×4 pattern, in a typical 3D® pattern orany other. Thus, the reinforcement strip 11 may be arranged to havedifferent properties and be positioned within the snowboard 1 dependingon the attachment feature pattern used.

[0107]FIG. 10 illustrates an embodiment of the invention wherein thepattern of FIG. 5 is employed in a snowboard 1 having variable strengthat different positions of the snowboard 1. In this illustrativeembodiment, the snowboard 1 includes a pair of reinforcement orhigh-strength strips 11 and 12 that run longitudinally along thesnowboard 1. Attachment features 2 may be fixed in the snowboard 1within or near the reinforcement strips 11 and 12. The snowboard 1 mayalso include lower strength or filler strips 13, 14 and 15 that may havea lower strength than the reinforcement strips 11 and 12, as thesefiller strips are not used to anchor the attachment features 2 to thesnowboard 1. The strips 11-15 may be formed as part of a core of thesnowboard 1, e.g., the reinforcement strips 11 and 12 may includehardwood strips attached to lighter weight and lower strength fillerstrips 13-15, which may be made of balsa wood. The strips 11-15 may beattached together and fashioned to form the core of the snowboard 1.

[0108] Several aspects of the invention discussed above relate to anattachment feature pattern for mounting a binding to a snowboard 1.These aspects of the invention are not limited in how the attachmentfeatures 2 are used to mount a binding 3 to the snowboard 1. Forexample, FIG. 11 shows an illustrative embodiment of a hold down disk 32having a mounting plate 322. In this embodiment, the mounting plate 322is attached to a snowboard 1, such as by using screws (not shown) thatextend through holes 325 in the plate 322 and engage with attachmentfeatures 2 in the snowboard 1. A disk 321 may be attached to themounting plate 322 by a screw 323 that engages with a threaded hole 324in the mounting plate 322. Engaging the screw 323 with the threaded hole324 may cause the disk 321 to engage with the mounting plate 322 so thatthe disk 321 may not freely rotate relative to the plate 322. Themounting plate 322 may also be provided with holes 325 that are oblongor otherwise provide a plurality of adjustment positions on thesnowboard 1 in much the same manner as the holes 34 in the disk 32 ofFIGS. 4 or 8.

[0109] It should also be understood that the aspects of the presentinvention discussed above are not limited to use with snowboards andsnowboarding equipment, as the various aspects of the invention may beused with any gliding board or other recreational device, such as skis,snowshoes, wakeboards, and so on.

[0110] While the invention has been described in conjunction withspecific embodiments thereof, many alternatives, modifications, andvariations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly,embodiments of the invention as set forth herein are intended to beillustrative, not limiting. Various changes may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

1. A system comprising: a snowboard having a tip, a tail, a pair ofmetal edges, and a longitudinal centerline extending in a tip-to-taildirection substantially equidistant between the metal edges; at leastthree threaded inserts fixed in place and equally spaced along thelongitudinal centerline of the snowboard; and a snowboard bindingattached to the snowboard via at least one of the threaded inserts. 2.The system of claim 1, wherein the threaded inserts are arranged in twospaced groups along the longitudinal centerline, the threaded insertswithin each one of the groups being equally spaced from adjacentthreaded inserts within the one of the groups, the closest threadedinserts in different groups being spaced further than adjacent threadedinserts within a group.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the threadedinserts are spaced approximately 25 millimeters from adjacent threadedinserts within a same group.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein thesnowboard binding is attached to the snowboard via only two of thethreaded inserts.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein the only two of thethreaded inserts include two threaded inserts that have one threadedinsert positioned between them.
 6. The system of claim 4, furtherincluding two fasteners, and wherein the snowboard binding includes ahold down plate that is attached to the snowboard by the two fastenersengaging with the threaded inserts.
 7. The system of claim 1, whereinthe threaded inserts are arranged to provide at least three attachmentfeature patterns that each provides a binding mounting position, the atleast three attachment feature patterns providing a first mountingposition, a second mounting position adjacent the first mountingposition, and a third mounting position adjacent the second mountingposition, wherein the first and third mounting positions share one ofthe threaded inserts.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the snowboardbinding includes a hold down plate to hold the snowboard binding to thesnowboard, and wherein the hold down plate covers exactly three of thethreaded inserts when mounted to the snowboard via at least two of thethreaded inserts.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein substantially all ofthe threaded inserts fixed in the snowboard are arranged along thelongitudinal centerline.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein all of thethreaded inserts fixed to the snowboard are arranged along thelongitudinal centerline.
 11. A system comprising: a snowboard and a pairof snowboard bindings mounted to the snowboard, the pair of snowboardbindings comprising a front binding and a back binding; wherein thesnowboard comprises; a tip; a tail; metal edges; and a plurality ofthreaded inserts adapted to mount the pair of snowboard bindings to thesnowboard, all of the plurality of threaded inserts being disposed on asingle line extending in a tip-to-tail direction, the threaded insertsbeing arranged in a front group that mounts the front binding to thesnowboard and a back group that mounts the back binding to thesnowboard; wherein the front binding is mounted to the front group ofthreaded inserts using only colinear inserts within the front group;wherein the back binding is mounted to the back group of threadedinserts using only colinear inserts within the back group; wherein thefront binding is mounted to the front group of threaded inserts using atleast two of the inserts within the front group; and wherein the backbinding is mounted to the back group of threaded inserts using at leasttwo of the inserts within the back group.
 12. The system of claim 11,wherein the front binding is mounted to the front group of threadedinserts via only two of the front group of threaded inserts, and whereinthe back binding is mounted to the back group of threaded inserts viaonly two of the back group of threaded inserts.
 13. The system of claim12, wherein each of the threaded inserts in the front group is spacedapart by approximately 25 millimeters from adjacent threaded inserts inthe front group, wherein each of the threaded inserts in the back groupis spaced apart by approximately 25 millimeters from adjacent threadedinserts in the back group, and wherein the single line on which all ofthe plurality of threaded inserts are disposed is arranged along acenterline of the snowboard substantially equidistant from the edges.14. The system of claim 12, wherein the two of the front group ofthreaded inserts to which the front binding is mounted have another ofthe front group of threaded inserts disposed between them, and whereinthe two of the back group of threaded inserts to which the back bindingis mounted have another of the back group of threaded inserts disposedbetween them.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein each of the front andback groups of threaded inserts defines at least three attachmentfeature patterns that each provides a binding mounting position, the atleast three attachment feature patterns providing a first mountingposition, a second mounting position adjacent the first mountingposition, and a third mounting position adjacent the second mountingposition, wherein the first and third mounting positions share one ofthe threaded inserts.
 16. The system of claim 13, wherein each of thefront and back bindings comprises a hold down plate and a base that isadjustable relative to the hold down plate, the hold down platecomprising at least two openings, spaced approximately 50 millimetersapart, adapted to mate with two of the threaded inserts.
 17. The systemof claim 11, wherein the threaded inserts within each one of the frontand back groups are equally spaced from adjacent threaded inserts withinthe one of the groups, and each of the first and second groups ofthreaded inserts includes at least five threaded inserts.
 18. A methodof attaching a pair of snowboard bindings to a snowboard, the pair ofsnowboard bindings including a first binding and a second binding, themethod comprising acts of: (A) providing a snowboard having a pluralityof threaded inserts disposed along a single line extending in atip-to-tail direction of the snowboard, the threaded inserts beingarranged in a front group to mount the first binding to the snowboardand a back group to mount the second binding to the snowboard, thethreaded inserts within each one of the front and back groups beingequally spaced from adjacent threaded inserts within the one of thegroups; (B) providing first and second bindings that each comprises atleast two openings adapted to cooperate with a pair of the threadedinserts; (C) attaching the first binding to the front group of threadedinserts using only colinear inserts within the front group and using atleast two of the threaded inserts within the front group; and (D)attaching the second binding to the back group of threaded inserts usingonly colinear inserts within the back group and using at least two ofthe threaded inserts within the back group.
 19. The method of claim 18,wherein the act (C) includes an act of attaching the first binding tothe front group of threaded inserts using only two of the threadedinserts within the front group; and wherein the act (D) includes an actof attaching the second binding to the back group of threaded insertsusing only two of the threaded inserts within the back group.
 20. Themethod of claim 18, wherein the first and second bindings each includesa hold down plate and a base that is rotatably adjustable relative tothe hold down plate, wherein the act (C) includes an act of attachingthe hold down plate of the first binding to the front group, and whereinthe act (D) includes an act of attaching the hold down plate of thesecond binding to the back group.
 21. The method of claim 20, whereinthe act (B) includes an act of providing front and back bindings thateach comprises a hold down plate that comprises at least two openingsspaced approximately 50 millimeters apart, wherein the act (C) includesan act of attaching the first binding to the front group using the atleast two openings in the hold down plate of the first binding, andwherein the act (D) includes an act of attaching the second binding tothe back group using the at least two openings in the hold down plate ofthe second binding.
 22. The method of claim 18, wherein the act (A)includes an act of providing a snowboard, having metal edges, whereineach of the threaded inserts in the front group is spaced apart byapproximately 25 millimeters from adjacent threaded inserts in the frontgroup, each of the threaded inserts in the back group is spaced apart byapproximately 25 millimeters from adjacent threaded inserts in the backgroup, and wherein the single line on which all of the plurality ofthreaded inserts are disposed is arranged along a center line of thesnowboard substantially equidistant from the edges.